One Night
by georgiejfan
Summary: Head and Heart Series, part one. One night will change the course of their lives forever. [Blackout 2006 AU] Jason/Georgie
1. Chapter 1

**One Night**

_I feel the way you want me_  
_I see that you are lonely_

-Christina Perri, _One Night_

August, 2006

The night was quiet, with the exception of the waves gently lapping against the docks. It was late and Georgie knew that it was dangerous to be on the docks at this hour, like the good daughter she was she should be at home right now. But an intense apathy kept her seated on the bench.

She had been sitting there since Dillon left following a call from Lulu. She wasn't surprised that her now ex-husband had rushed to Lulu's side, but it still hurt. After everything Lulu had put them through she wished that Dillon would have at least shown her some courtesy and not let her know that was where he was rushing off to. Instead it felt like a slap in face, especially in light of the night they'd shared together as friends with hope for the future.

Clenching the fabric in her lap of her sleeveless floral dress she breathed in deeply trying to calm the tempest threatening to rage inside of her. It wouldn't do any good anyway. She sighed and closed her eyes. Focusing on the water lapping beneath her she let the sound lull her into a state of calm, however the sound of heavy footsteps on the wood planks pulled her from her thoughts.

Calmly reaching for her purse she checked for the mace Mac had given her at the beginning of summer. Handling the small bottle she waited for whoever they were to make an appearance.

Georgie was surprised when Jason Morgan came bounding down the stairs. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a light gray t-shirt that clung to him in the dampened air. He walked right to the edge of the docks. Georgie realized that he didn't even know that she was sitting there and she found herself at a loss as to what to do. She was pretty sure she could slip away unnoticed but she didn't make a move to leave and she wasn't sure why.

Instead she slipped the bottle of mace back into her purse and watched him carefully. His fists were clenched at his sides and his breath seemed to be coming in ragged pants. He was simmering with barely concealed rage.

Suddenly, Jason spun around and strode toward the brick wall of one of the buildings that lined the docks. She watched as he lifted one of his fists and swung at the wall. Flinching at the sight, Georgie immediately stood up and stared at him in horror as he swung both fists violently at the wall over and over again.

"Jason!" she cried out, moving toward him. But he couldn't seem to hear her; he was lost in whatever agony had driven him to self-destruct.

Georgie didn't know what to do. She was afraid to approach him but at the same time she couldn't let him continue on. She stopped and started toward him twice and called out his name but she was too afraid to come any closer. It wasn't until she heard an agonized cry break from his lips that she rushed forward and grasped his arm as tightly as she could. Jason suddenly stopped and spinning around he lifted his fist toward her.

Instinctively Georgie brought her arms up and shielded her face. But nothing happened and hesitatingly she slowly lowered her arms.

Jason stood in front of her with a look of horror etched on his face as he stared down at his bloodied hand. Lifting his gaze to meet hers she saw the sheen of unshed tears. He was shaking violently as he opened and closed his mouth.

"Georgie, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he stuttered out. "I would never, never."

"I know," she said, rushing to reassure him. But she didn't 'know'. She couldn't know that he wouldn't hit her. Georgie only knew Jason by reputation and what she had learned from Mac and Robin.

She wanted to believe him though and looking at him right then she thought she might be able to.

Georgie's eyes suddenly widened in shock as Jason started to collapse to his knees. Reaching out for him she tried to support him but he was too heavy for her and she felt herself being dragged down with him.

Landing hard on the planks, scraping her knees, Georgie cradled his limp body against her own and her eyes frantically scanned the docks for anyone. While her mind raced to decide her next move she felt hot tears fall on her bare shoulders and her heart, her compassion, drove her to simply hold him as he wept.

It was late enough that most people had abandoned the docks in favor of bars and fast food restaurants offering air conditioning and cold drinks, so she had no concerns of anyone coming across the pair. She simply held him and waited.

She wasn't aware of when Jason's tears stopped but she eventually felt him pull away from her. He sat back with his shoulders slumped in defeat. His eyes were rimmed in red and there were deep creases in his face that Georgie knew weren't there before tonight. Biting the inside of her lip Georgie blinked away her own tears.

Jason's face twist in pain and both of them looked to his hands. The skin was hanging in shreds at the knuckles and his dark red blood was beginning to clot and congeal. Very gently, Georgie took them in her own, apologizing when he let out with a pained groan. She couldn't be sure, but they didn't look like they were broken. He might have to have a doctor look at them to be certain.

Laying them gently back in his lap Georgie caught his eye and said, "I'll be right back."

Standing up, she frowned as the scrapes on her knees made themselves known. Ignoring the sting she made her way over to where she had left her purse and dug around for the package of Kleenex she always kept with her. Pulling it out she turned around and started back toward Jason only to stop when she found that Jason was already standing and watching her.

Holding out her hand she beckoned him to come to her. There was a strange look that came into his eye as he stared at her outstretched hand, one that even later she wouldn't have been able to identify. Just as she was about to go to him, he started moving toward her and she was left stunned when he slipped his hand into hers. Confused Georgie shook her head and led him to the bench.

Sitting down next to him she pulled a Kleenex from the colorful pouch and began to clean his hands as best as she could. She wanted to ask him why, why he would do this to himself, why he looked at her so strangely a minute ago. But she didn't feel like it was her place so she kept her mouth shut and helped him the best she could.

She used up the entire package of tissues, cleaning up as much of his blood as she could, leaving a pile of bloodied Kleenex in her lap. Looking up at him she tried to manage a smile but the intensity in his face stopped her dead in her tracks.

Jason's eyes were trained on her face as he scanned every inch until he finally settled on her mouth. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as he lifted his hand and she could feel it as it slid around the back of her neck.

She knew what was going to happen next and while the logical portion of her brain was telling her to flee, her curiosity won over and she let him pull her towards him.

He met her half way and tilting his head slightly he kissed her. The kiss was neither romantic nor even passionate, it was all about dominance.

He was letting her know that he was in control.

His mouth was hard and unrelenting and at first Georgie sat stiffly as his left hand tightly gripped her waist. He pulled her body flush against his own, but she was slow to react as her body struggled to catch up. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that his grip on her wasn't so tight that she couldn't leave his embrace if she wanted to.

Tentatively Georgie began to respond to his kiss, eventually matching him move for move, changing the dynamics of the kiss. While there was still a measure of dominance, and even the hint of violence to the kiss, Georgie tempered it and brought the intimacy that was lacking.

As Jason gripped at her waist and the back of her neck, Georgie traced her fingertips up the hard planes of his chest. Urging her mouth open, Jason's tongue explored the inner recesses of her mouth, continuing his pursuit of dominance.

Breathless and lightheaded, she pushed gently at his chest, breaking the kiss. They were both panting hard. Georgie brought her hand up and gingerly touched her swollen lips that were bruised red. Trying to regain some control over her body she backed up when Jason moved to kiss her again.

"No, Jason, we...we can't," she said.

The look of hurt and utter rejection that stole over his face was quickly replaced by a mask of indifference. It felt like someone had struck her. Hard.

"I want to," she admitted, and God only knew she _really_ wanted to, but they couldn't and she repeated that.

"Why?" Jason asked, his voice was harsh and held a cruel note to it.

Sadly, Georgie gazed at him and cupped his cheek. "Because I'm hurting and so are you, and right now I think this would hurt us even more," she explained as gently as she could. "And I don't want to hurt you."

Not after what she'd seen tonight.

Her words seemed to melt Jason and he nodded as he leaned ever so slightly into the palm of her hand. Something shifted in Georgie and she curved forward and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. Turning his head Jason captured her mouth with his. This kiss was softer, gentler and brought tears to Georgie's eyes. It lasted only a moment before he pulled away.

Brushing his hand over her hair he gazed at her as she swiped at a tear that fell.

Clearing her throat she said, "we need to clean up your hands." Her words broke the silence that had enveloped them.

Jason shook his head dismissively. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," she countered cautiously. "They could be broken."

"They're not, trust me," he reassured her.

"All the same they could become infected."

"You're not going to give up are you?" he asked. There was a hint of amusement in his eyes are he watched her shake her head no.

"No, I'm not. Not until you either agree to see a doctor or let me clean them up myself," she told him. There was a steely determination in her voice that showed she wasn't about to back down.

"I can take care of myself," he tried to tell her but he only received a skeptical look in reply. "Fine," he finally relented.

The pair stood up and, not knowing what else to do with them, Georgie tucked the used tissues back into her purse. As they made their way to leave Georgie moved toward the stairs while Jason continued on the docks. Pausing she looked at him questioningly.

"The Towers are this way," she said motioning to her right.

Jason's jaw clenched angrily and he gave her a brief shake of his head. "I don't want to go back there tonight," he explained.

"Okay," she replied, drawing out the word.

This time it was Jason who held his hand out to her. Georgie blinked. Her gaze flickered to the darkness just past his shoulder before she focused her attention back to him and saw an uncertainty in his eyes that tore at her. Not hesitating a moment longer Georgie retreated back down the stairs and made her way to his side.

Taking his hand in her own she noticed the relief that filled his eyes and she allowed him to lead the way, into the darkness of the docks.


	2. Chapter 2

**One Night**

_It's more than curiosity_  
_And I've never longed for winter_  
_Till your presence made me shiver_

_-_Christina Perri,_ One Night_

Pulling out a set of keys from his back pocket Jason unlocked the industrial looking door in front of them. Georgie watched as he moved into the darkness of the apartment and hesitated in the doorway until a light flickered on and Jason returned.

Looking up at him she smiled as he beckoned her inside.

The door shut behind her as she looked around. It was a moderately large sized room with tall ceilings that had large windows that overlooked the harbor. Like the building itself it had an industrial look to it. The brick walls were painted a dark gray-blue color and the floors were made of a worn, golden wood. To her left was a short hallway where she could see three closed doors and lining the wall just past the hallway was a sparse kitchen with cabinets, a sink, small refrigerator, and a stove top all made of burnished steel.

The large room only contained a table with two chairs, also made of steel, and a light grey couch with a table to one side and a lamp to the other. It would have felt empty however all along the wall to her right were white shelves filled with books and there were boxes stacked on the floor.

From where she stood she could only make out a few titles, but they were mostly travel, history and a few earth science books. There were a smattering of biographies here and there, and more than a dozen atlases.

She even recognized a few titles she owned.

Georgie was surprised.

She had never taken Jason for being a reader, but now that she thought about it, it made sense to her. After all he couldn't spend all of his free time playing pool or working on his motorcycle, and he definitely didn't seem like the type to watch TV or go to the movies. His books were of course non-fiction, which also made sense. She couldn't imagine finding any fiction on his shelves.

Feeling his eyes on her, Georgie turned to him and, embarrassed, she apologizes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Snoop, she thought, mentally finishing her sentence.

"It's alright I don't mind," he told her, moving to the couch. She watched as he sat down heavily, leaning forward with his head bent and his arms resting on his knees.

"What is this place?" she asked. She looked around for somewhere to put her purse down, finally settling on the kitchen table.

"It's one of my safe houses," he explained lifting his head to look around him. "I barely use though, only for storage."

Safe house. The words made her uncomfortable. Instead she tried to focus on the second part of his explanation, the storage aspect of the apartment.

"You have a first aid kit." It wasn't so much a question as a statement. He would need one if this were a safe house.

Nodding his head he indicated toward the hallway and said, "bathroom, underneath the sink."

Without saying anything Georgie moved toward the hallway. Opening the first door she immediately found the bathroom and fumbled for the light switch. The small room illuminated with light and Georgie froze as she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror.

There were streaks of Jason's blood on her face, neck and shoulders. Looking down she realized that there were dark red stains on her dress too. Tamping down on the panic that swelled inside of her Georgie reached for a washcloth from the metal rack above the toilet. Her hands shook slightly as she wet and soaped the cloth before wiping the blood from her skin. There was nothing she could do for her dress.

Rinsing out the towel, she looked up at her freshly washed face and caught sight of Jason in the mirror. Turning to face him she watched as his eyes took in the stained cotton cloth and the smears on her dress.

For reasons she couldn't explain she wanted to reassure him.

"It's okay, it was a cheap dress anyway," she lied. While it may have been considered cheap to someone like him, it had cost her a good portion of her last paycheck. Knowing that he would catch onto her lie if he had too much time to think about it, she urged him to sit down on the edge of the bathtub.

When he entered, the room which already felt very small became, if possible, even smaller. As he brushed past her Georgie felt a shiver run through her body and her mind flash back to the docks. Glancing at the mirror she was relieved that while she may have felt like she was on fire she wasn't showing it.

Jason watched her every move as she pulled the first aid kit out from underneath the sink and place in on the lid of the toilet. Wetting another wash cloth Georgie finally turned to him. She grimaced slightly as she knelt down in front of him, the scraped flesh of her knees pulled uncomfortably, but the cool white tile soothed them. Taking his hand in hers she carefully and methodically cleaned and bandaged them. By the time she was finished she felt certain that none of his fingers were in fact broken and he wasn't at risk of infection.

Satisfied she cleaned up her mess.

Turning back to Jason she found him deep in thought. Sitting down on the toilet seat lid Georgie opened her mouth but found she didn't know what to say so she closed it again.

Jason finally pulled himself from his thoughts and pinching the bridge of his nose he said, "I suppose I owe you an explanation about tonight."

Shaking her head no, she said, "no, you don't. I just need to know you'll be okay."

"I will," he reassured her, lifting his gaze to meet hers.

Until tonight Georgie had never realized just how easy it could be to read Jason. Before, she had always imagined him to be like a statue, impenetrable, indecipherable, a single expression set in stone. But now she realized that she couldn't have been further from the truth.

"I will listen though," she told him. "If you want to tell me."

For a long time Jason didn't say anything, he just simply sat there staring at her. She knew he was trying to determine how much he could trust her and for one reason or another she desperately wanted him to trust her. It wasn't so much that she wanted to hear what had driven him to such extreme behavior, because she was fairly certain that she didn't want to know. No it was more the simple desire to be gifted his trust, especially since it was clear that it had been broken so badly tonight.

"Sam slept with Ric."

The declaration shocked her and she found herself needing clarification.

"As in Ric Lansing, her," she paused, unable to say the word. Unable to even look him in the eye she finished lamely, "Alexis's husband?"

Jason nodded his head in confirmation.

"Her stepfather, yeah."

"How do you know..." she trailed off. It was a stupid question and she knew it.

But Jason still confirmed her suspicions when he said, "I saw them."

Georgie's eyes briefly shut in pain. Opening them again she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"So am I," he admitted, his voice raw with betrayal. "If it had been anyone other than Ric…" he said trailing off, then asked, "Why _him_?"

Georgie bit her lip and remained silent. She didn't have an answer for him and didn't want to insult him with a paltry excuse she had no right to offer. The rage she'd witnessed earlier was quickly resurfacing and she reached out with a brief, gentle touch to stop him from clenching his battered hands.

"Jason." She said his name so softly that at first she wasn't sure he'd heard her but a deep inhale followed by an exhale of his breath and the loosening of his hands told her that he had. He was silent for a moment before he spoke again.

"I have to admit that I almost slept with Elizabeth tonight," he told her.

Schooling her features, Georgie waited for him to continue and she didn't have to wait long.

"It was after I saw them, when I came back to the penthouse. Elizabeth came there, she caught Lucky with your sister," Jason informed her.

Groaning lowly, Georgie cradled her head in her hands. This was such a mess. Shaking her head she pushed aside any thoughts of Maxie and Lucky and concentrated on Jason.

"What happened?" she asked, almost reluctantly.

"We almost..." he said, trailing off. "But she pulled away. She left. Loyal to Lucky. Always."

The bitterness in his voice surprised her. She had no idea that Jason felt that way about Elizabeth. While she wouldn't say it out loud, Georgie was glad that nothing had happened between them, it would have only added to the already disastrous situation. But now she understood the look of rejection he'd given her earlier. With her understanding came a question that loomed at the edge of her mind.

Twisting a hand towel around her fingers, Georgie gathered up her courage and asked him, "is that why you kissed me? Were you using me?" The question was blunt and only her tone kept it from being harsh, but Georgie had to ask.

"I don't know why I kissed you, but I wasn't using you," he replied, looking straight into her eyes.

Jason offered no other explanation for the kiss. But he didn't say he regretted it either. Georgie wasn't sure how she felt about that, or about the fact that she didn't regret it either.

"I'm sorry," she said, before clarifying, "for everything that you've had to go through tonight."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Jason told her. His face contorted in pain as he cautiously flexed his bandaged hands.

Georgie gave a small jerk of her head and a short humorless laugh. "I'm not so sure about that, I mean I'm at least somewhat responsible for Maxie's part in this mess."

"No, no you're not." Jason said the words with such conviction that she had to look at him. "I learned the hard way that we're never responsible for our sibling's actions. I was no more responsible for what A.J. did than you are for Maxie."

Even though she had heard the words from Mac a million times, hearing them from Jason seemed different. Somehow, his words seemed to relieve her of all responsibility. She thought that perhaps it was because he was speaking from experience. Both of them had older siblings that could be dangerously irresponsible, so he knew the burden of trying to keep them from acting on their impulses.

Oddly, having that burden lifted from her shoulders was both freeing and unsettling and Georgie suddenly wanted to cry but she didn't know why.

Recognizing that the events of the night were beginning to weigh heavily on her and that it was very late she felt that she should leave. She didn't want to but she needed to.

"I should go," she said but inside she was begging him to ask her to stay.

He didn't.

Following her out of the bathroom he told her to wait for a minute while he went into the next room. The light switched on and Georgie could see a double bed just beyond the doorway. The bedroom was similar to the rest of the apartment, barren and done in grays and blues. There was a soft shuffling noise followed by a silence and more shuffling before he finally emerged with a light dress jacket in his hands.

Holding it out to her he indicated she should take it. "You can't go home with blood on your dress like that."

He was right, she realized, thinking about Mac's reaction to seeing her covered in blood. That would not go over well this late at night, then again neither would her wearing an man's jacket that was way to big to belong to Dillon. She could only hope that he was asleep or still at the station.

Pulling it on she laughed and held up the sleeves that were way too long for her. Jason gave her a small smile before reaching forward and buttoning up the front.

"Do you want me call you a cab?" Jason asked as Georgie finished cuffing the long sleeves. "I don't have my car with me, otherwise I would drive you."

Georgie shook her head. "No, I'll be fine. I left my car at Kelly's, it's not that far of a walk from here." And it really wasn't. She didn't want to mention her mace or the fact that it was too hot out for anyone to even think about attacking her. Even the smallest reminder might drive him to walk her to her car and right now she needed to be alone. She needed to think.

"If you're sure," Jason said.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Jason walked her to the door. Stepping out into the empty hall Georgie turned around and looked up at him searchingly.

"You're going to be okay, right?"

Jason smiled warmly. "Yes."

"No more punching brick walls?" There was a teasing hint to her voice that broadened Jason's smile.

"No, no more punching brick walls. I promise," he said.

"I'll hold you to that," she said.

Turning to leave she was stopped when Jason caught her arm. Facing him she waited patiently as he cradled her head in the palms of his hands and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"Thank you," he murmured.

She nodded as he let go of her. Turning away from him again she made her way down the hallway, glancing back only once to see Jason watching her from the doorway. Slipping into the stairwell Georgie made her way out of the building.

Stepping outside the hot and humid night air hit her full force. The door slammed shut beside her as she fell back against the gritty, brown brick wall. Releasing a long ragged breath Georgie looked up at the clear night sky through a veil of tears. Staring up at the shimmering stars she tried to make sense of her jumbled thoughts and feelings, but she was failing miserably because at this point there was only one thing she felt certain of, that after tonight nothing would ever be the same again.

* * *

Note: This series will probably be slow burning and subsequently lengthy, at this point I don't have an end in sight. It will consist of several parts that will vary in length and rating. If you enjoyed this please comment and let me know that there is interest in this series. Thank you.


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